fjnelfsh Edition. Unpublished Manuscripts - Please reprint - INTERNATIONAL - Vol.I. No.17 ) PRESS 16 1"Dec.1921 CORRESPONDENCE Ctnlra/ Bureau : SW 48, Fricdrichatruee 22.5, Ill. - Postal address franz Dahlem, Berlin SW 48, Friedrich1traue 22.5, Ill for lnprekorr. - Telegraphic address: lnprekorr.

l11:cause i1 woulJ u1he rwise havt been 1nipossible to carry on the wa r beguu by the bourgeoisie. O ur unlimited centra lization POLITICS wa s nu1hi 11g 111 ore than the stri ppiug of the wh ole country in order tu obtain al l the industrial produc1s necessary for carrying un war. As corn raJe Len in r igh1ly s1a1es i11 hi s pamphlet on Is the Russian Revolution 1hr tax in kiud, 1he mi litary measures led 10 military Communism 111 1he ci ti es, and 10 requisitioning in the country, that is 10 a Boureeois Revolution? Kraiu-\ilundering for 1he support of the army and the cities. by Karl Radrk. Wa s 1 iere an _v ot he r poss ibilit y of gett ing a s11Hicient amount (Conclusion.) of met al and of grain which we needed for 1he war? We could 11 01 possibly have leh our li mitt'I 1he J isrrelion nf th e speculators. And how could we possibl) ~overnment attempted to define our nex t tasks and to point oul :1a vc left grain 10 be ta ken ca re of by the tax in kind , when the wa y which we now designate us "The new economic policy ... we lacktd 1he nccessa r) gov rrnmenl appa ratus for co111pu1ing­ It attempted to cunclude agreemen ts with the cl pitalists and to this tax rnrrcct ly'' The grain st ores of Central Russia (until transfonn private capitalism into c:ipitalism controlled by th e tl: tll Siberia aud the Uk raine did not belong to us) were so proletarian state. Comrade Lenin said that we must learn from small 1h a1 it wa s not possible 10 obtain any !lurplus whatever ; the trust kings how to reconstruct our industries. At the same moreove r th e peasa nt s could receiv e nolh ing in 1eturn for this time the Soviet guv nnment had 10 act in . jusl 1he opposi1e su rpl us 011 the free marl.:et, if th ere was anv . becau~ all th e manner i11 the co unt ry, where the prereq t11 s1tes for Soc1ahs111 111a11ulac111red li(oods were co nliscated. \\.ere not present. 111 order to ob1a i11 grain it had 10 arm Outside of 1he po li1ira l, sl ra teg ic aud economic necessity the workers and the village poor, nml 10 fll rm vi llage co nnni t1ees fur the po liry ol wa r Comm un ism, there wa s another social. al{ainst rent-profit ee ring. Capitali sm wh ic h had been d est r oye<~ psyrholoi:.: ica l fa ctor. If even at the beginning of the revolution by the war had not left us sufficient mean s for th e exchanl!e ot 1he vic1or-class could not lea ve th e materia l sources in the hands manufacture9 . article s fo 1: grain. The Soviet government wa s of th ei r enemy and thus enable 1hc bourgeoisie to lead a life not yet suff1c1ently fortified, a11~ wa s 111 cont rol of too w_e ak of luxurr in a lell'a l 111 a n11 ~ r , how then cou ld lhe proleta.nat have a machine 10 be able to gel gram by means of the ta x 111 kind . possibly done 1l11s at a tune when Ru ssia wa s oue big battle­ The peasants, wh o had thrown off 1he yo ke of the laq!e fie ld. wh en 1h c workers and peasants had 10 undergo so much landowners. the Czar and the bourgeoisie wi1h the aid of th e suifrri ng in order to he l'ictorious in 1h eir fight against 1lw workers, wanted 11 0 restrictions set upon 1heir freedom . The! l 10 11ri:l· o i sie ·~ Wa s 11 possible, at a. ri me when the hungry and desired a free stateless life , with no obligations to the workl·rs I rt·rrn1 g wo111 e11 workers were sew111g ma ts for the a rmy da Y and peasants' government. The grain producers were will inl! ~ nd 11 igl 11 anu 11 11der poor light, 10 permit bea111ifully lit and to ex change their grain onl y for the greates1 po ~s1ble parl of rid1 di splays in the stores to moc k the sulfering fighters b) thoseJoods which were s1il l in the country ; th is wou ld !1a\t' showing them how well 1he bourgeoisie lived and enj oyed life ·~ injur the state, 1he worki11 i1: -cla ss aml the poor villagers. This wa,; impossible! The Sov iet gove rnment had to institute But the "hird class, 1he bourgeoisie did nol want to hcai­ 1he Spa nan man ner of livi ng, because it was the only one which •:nrn·sponded to lhe gral' so ld in roa1 of Soviet Russia . of limi1ations either. It refused to accep1 the rnmpromise w11h 1he Sov :et government, ns .offeri:d by Lenin in 1r11s. Wi1h 1la· \'C1r Cu111111u11i s111 wa s a co 111 radic tion to the structure of aid of the world bourgeo1s1e, 1t had begun th e light lnr . lilt• l ~us si a anJ i1s economi c rela1io11 s. War C.o mmuni~m wa s a co11 · against Soviet Russia. During the s~mmer oi. IQIS .111e un1 1ed t r ~ di.:l io 1 ; as far as 1he land wa s conre rned; in the c i tie~ Russian bourgeoisie declared at one tim e to l. 11huan1a , anothn hawt'ver, 1he possibility of success was 11 01 alt ogether excludt'

The land wQ.uld have been in the hands of the peasants. The relations determine the political onea, and that economic con­ reconstructed industries would haYe made it possible for the cessions like the ones we grant to the bourgeoiaie, must lead to proletariat to relinquish the requisitions in the country, and to political conceaslous. receive grain partly through fhe tax in kind and partly by This so-called Marxian ABC has nothing in common witli exchanging goods with the state industries. This would have Marxism, because it is abstract and considers neither time nor been no Communism, but it would have been the most signi­ space. Should world capitalism constantly gain power in th C' ficant slep in the transition towards Socialism; it would have course of many years, and the revolution constantly weaken, then led the way towards great progress in electrification, and the working-class must in the Ion~ run be defeated. But when towards creating the necessary conditions for the advance of 1he a large landowning class in Russia made economic concessions peasanlry towards a higher collectivistic system of production. to the bourgeoisie, it nevertheless continued in power for quik In this we did not succeed. The long drawu-out civil war a long time. It is true that the economic concessions wen has weakened us economically. No\\> that it is at an end '\ e followed by political concessions and finally by the capitulation cannot proceed iu industrial producliou although our co11pr0mise of the large landowning class. But the reason for this lies in with the world bourgeoisie is advantageous to us. The 1ui ­ the fact that the large landowning class waa the end of a decaying­ certainty of our foreii::-11 r-"lalious !!'ave the bourgeoisie the oppor­ branch of development; it was a dyinr class. from this J)()int tunity of getting grea !t·r ronccss10ns from us and of startin,.; of view the bourgeoisie is the his torically deteriorating, ying the negotations for concessions under conditions which were less class. That is why the working-class of Russia can refuse to favorable to us. We must therefore first permit the restoration make political concessions to the bourgeoisie; since it ie justified of the ~ 111 :1 11 anJ middll' <> izcd industries on the basis of lease. in hoping that its power will grow on a national and inte1 . Thie will of course restore a part of the Russian bourgeoisie national scale more quickly than will the power of the Russian We are compelled to grnnt com:essious under less fav'>rable con­ bourgeoisie. · ditions. We must grant concessious in Central Russia ; we musi The history of the Russian revolution establishes the fart pennit foreign capital to start those factories running whic l1 that it was the first Socialist and the first proletarian revolution. are already there, instead of de ~ eloping those productive so'1 rcr.; It is a proletarian revolution in a petty bourgeois rountry. fo1 which have not yet been used. Our present task is to retain this reason it will distinguish itself from the proletarian revolu. the main industnal undertakings in the hands of the workers' tions in countries like England and America by the fact Iha t government. We are consciously preparing ourselves for a fter . a long struggle follow~d bY, the seizure of power thl· co-operating with the bourgeoisie; this is undoubtedly dangerous workmg-class of these couatnes will be able to carry out their to the existence of the Soviet govemmen t, because the la tier loses programs much more quickly than we have been. Ours is " the monopoly on industrial production as against the peasantry. proletarian revolution which under unfavorable inner and outer condictions advances like every other revolution. But it is :1 Does not this signify the decisive victory of Capitalism? proletarian, a Socialist revolution ; the tradition of October is th e May we not then speak of our revolulion as having lost its program of the world revolution. revolutionary character? Were all our efforts and the wh ole three years' s truggle a futile sacri fice '~ . c;:>ctober is not the an~i~ersary of the Comedy of Errors 111 which, as the Menshev1k1 claim, the working-class un­ We shall begin with this last question. The whole course wnsciously became the tool of another class. It is the anniversary of development has shown that the bourgeoisie would not have o_f the: beginning of the great international proletarian revolu­ had to become our lessees, if we had not beaten them on the ti on. Even· now when we are fighting in our defensive positions, economic field, if we had not expropriated them, because they we count the sacrifices of our struggle and can say with absolute were owners of the means of production- If we had not beaten con vi cl ion and -c:ase, " We followed the right road in Octolx-r them there would be no talk of concessions. But if as we have ani the victory is ours ". said, our economic policy of 1920 was necessary for our victory, it was also a necessary condilion for our new economic poli<;.y . Japan How has our new economic policy affected class relations ·~ lo the country, our policy of requisitioning could only have been and the Washineton Conference a transition policy. Even in case the world proletariat had been by Stn Katayama. victorious we would have relinquished it. On the industrial field our present concessions are 01ily temporary transition con­ Just now the world press is busy with the Washington cessions; by this we certainly do not mean that at the end oi Conference. What will be the outcome? Many predictiona and a year we shall again confiscate the newly accumulated goods. conjectures have already been ventured and discussed. All are Our economic fOlicy is based upon a longer period of time, but partisan in nature and in many cases bigoted and biased. it is a transiti on policy nevertheless. Our goal remains the Although most of them pretend to be lair and impartial, one same - the industries iu the hands of the workers' government. can see at once by reading a few lines whether they are pro­ But just at present the i:overnment industries constitute only English, pr0-American, pr0-Chiuese or pr0-Japanese. But what a part of the total industries; they only form a narrow found a­ 1 wish to say in this article is pr0-Communist- from the stand­ tion for the proletarian government. What does that mean? It point of a Communist. However, being a Japanese I may appear means that we have retreated ; that we are holding those positions to other nationalities pro-Japanese. Thi.; is inevitable, because only which are necessary to maintain the power of the workers I know Japan and the Japanese better than a non-Japanese. and peasants. T he Washington Conference was initiated by Harding for Does that signify that the revolution is a non-Socialist th e purpose of preparing world opinion lor the coming world one? No 1 It only signifies that the victorious working-class wa r. It is intended to convince the American people that war is not able to carry out its rrogram completely, not even that with Japan is something inevitable. The Washington Conference program which in Russia, a petty-bourgeois country, seems is a smoke screen for the American masses to conceal the real theoretically possible. But the class which must retreat because aim and purpose oi American capitalism and imperialism and of the great resistance of the other classes, in our case because 111 prepare for the next war centered in the Pacific. of the resistance of world capitalism which is not yet overthrown, does not cease to be the victorious class, the ruling class. When One of Harding's chief objects in calling the Washington the Czarist regime which was a government of large landowners Conference is to do away with the obnoxious Jap-Briton alliance. was compelled to make conc.!ssions to capitalism, so that the Will the Conference accomplish it through the pressure o! publk bourgeoisie became the ruling economic class, Czarism itself d id opinion supported by the press of the En~lish - speaking countries'? not cease to exist :ind the large landowning class did not cease The alliance is a great menace to America. But it is indispens­ to be the ruling poli tical C' lass; neither did Russia cease to be able to Britain as well as to Japan. During and after the wa r a country of half-serfdom. Sho·ild the bourgeoisie of Euro~'e of 1914-18 it was the greatest necessitY' lo England and iu attempt to hinder the revolution by submitting to state capitalism spile of the English public, press and some spokesmen denoun­ and even to workers' conlrol, it will not cease to be the ruling cmg ii as an obstacle and prejudicial to the welfare of England class. We now come to the last question. It is not a question ol and to the cultivat.i... of a closer friend ship with America, the character of our revolution. The revolution was cons11ni - British Imperial statesmen felt the need of some such alliancr 1~ted . by the work.in~ - class and. will go down in the annals ol with japan. Lloyd George still wanls it, but he does not like history as a Socialist revolution, even though the Russian to lose the American " dollar friendship ''. Thus he suggested working-class may temporarily be defeated. We are rather a triple alliance of England, America and Japan. The Washing­ speaking of the outcome, the result of the revolution. ton slatesmen flatly rejected this idea. Will the Bolsh~viki retain their power under the conditions Why does England want the alliance to continue? This of the partial restora'tion of capitalism and the rroduction of rather awkward question never appeared in the English press. iroods by the· peasants? Our enemies r- oin t out that -econ omic England won the war and gathered the largest booty and abO\ e No. 17 lotematiooaJ Pttll-Corretpoodeace IJQ

all crushed her deadly rival-Germany. But Joi There arose a The Washington Conference will not solve any of !host still grea~er ri.val t.han the .one she had just annihilated-America. grave problems hanging over the Pacific- such as the immi­ for the first time 111 the history of modem Eugland, the English­ gration question, racial discrimination, and the exploitation of rna1! tJ:egan to fear Uncle Sam., Not onl,y has his pound been Cl11na. No power concerned will ever be able to solve the shr111k1ng, but he has also lost his long-mamtained naval standarJ. problems of the far Enst by conferences or even by war. But He cannot retain the two-power standard in naval strength. as long as the capitalist system contimes, war will remain the fhus the recent war weakened England's position as a naval only method ol liquidating such disputes. power. Moreover, it has grave difficulties in Ireland and India. A very curious phase of the present Conference is the England cannot by any means lose its American friend, but at rejiresentation of the Far Eastern countries. Japan is, of course, th~ same time. ii is not well as~ured ~f its safety in losing Japan's f11 ly represented while only pnrt of China is represented. The ln~ndly rela.t1011s .. It .means mnned~ate danger of weakenini: its southern half of China is not repres~nted at all in spite of the gnp on India which is at present 111 a most revolutionary con ­ vigorous protests from the Canton Government of Sun Yat Sen. dition. for the sake of India alone it can not alford to trade while Russia is entirely ignored. Tire far Eastern Republic as the alliance for a vague American understanding, unless Uncle well as the Soviet government demanded representation hut Har­ Sam cancels the debt that John Bull owes him. There has been ding ignored both. Of the nine nations at the Conference only two, n1uch talk about a British-American alliance. Those who hold China and Japan, are from the far East. All others are mere in­ the idea of the white domination of the world will support it truders in the far f.ast. To discuss the Far Eastern problems at full -heartedly. But the English statesmen are shrewder than the such a conference is at first glance ridiculous and any agreement sentimentalists of white supremacy. They see that this alliance will uever be satisfactorily carried out. The Russians, Siberians practically means the submission of the pound to the dollar. and Chinese of the south will object and will not consider themsel­ ·· The abrogation of the Jaji- British alliance will certainly ves bound to anythi11~ which the Conference may decide. China is weaken Japanese imperialism. t would mean thnt the path of the greatest market 111 the world. Every nation wants it as itd the Indian revolution would be easier than it is at present. own market. But since they all want it. they will have to come However, the loser hy the non- renewal of the said alliance would tu some kinJ of an agreement. A joint exploitation of China he England rather than Japan. Japan would have to submit would be the best solution of the problem. But America is a 10 the American policy in the Far East, but that does not mean newcomer whi ch ha s not as yet establishecl any shere of in­ that it would be beaten in the coming war. Besides, non-renew a I fluence. Although the Am rricans ha ve rich concessions they of the alliance does not necessarily 111ean war. Japan can wa it l'~ 1 11 1 ot utilize the111 0 11 account of the prior co ncessio11a ires. 1111til the alliance of white domination is broken. t'or, as Trotsky China is 110Y. well dh·ided a111ong the diHerent nations predicted, Eng laud must meet the dollar in the oil supplv . J;•pan being the latest intruder. Thus the powers want that England will not yield to the gradual shrinkage of the pou1td Ja pa n get ou t of China. But it will not get ou t as quickly and without a struggle. Thus E n~lish statesmen ha ve a ve ry l·asily as some Jesire. It will say that it will get out if the hard task in the diplomatic sphere. England ca11 rnglish and the French get out of I-Jong Kong, Wei-hei-Wei, scarcely retain both the friendship of the dollar and the Cochin-China and Annarn which places the latte1· two before alliance with Japan. But at the same time it cannot l'ery :1 disagreeable alternative. "ell expose itself 10 the danger ol strengthening the al­ There is some hope of a voiding the coming conflict, ready unmanageable Indian revolutionary movement by gaining 111a111 el), th hip peasants are deerly impressed. The fall of the Czar and the with America. Kaiser together with 1he defeat of German militarism made the But if the Co11lere11 ce is successful in destroying the said Japanese workers and peasants see that their militarism is also all iance in some way or other, what will be the prospect in the rl'J t :11n!: Perable. fhe ~e llow l:1tor u1 11ons have chang...J into reJ f ar East? Japan will not take up arms against America single­ 01 r~rnlutio nary 1rnio11 s rnJ dt>mand control of mdu ~ t n 11, h:inded. Supposing America and England agree in the joint Japanese Communist Party has been formed and is working hard exploitation of China, ousting Japan and crushing its aspirations in spite of the rigid police and gendannerie oppression. Strikes, in the far East, which, from the American standpoint, I think sabo l:i ge and labor demonstrations of gigantic nature are impoasible. But supposing this to be the case, then China will occurintr from time to time with increased force and success. be more throughly exploited by the combined power of the dollar They will not he led into a blind alley as easily as in the past. aud the pound. Naturally enough this will not satisfy the Japan as a whole has been awakened politically and Chinese statesmen, althoucrh China asserted before the Con­ socially. The people to day hate militarism and above all con­ lrrence that it is prepared to accept and apply the "Open Door scription. Evaders and slackers are increasing enormously Policy " to all parts of the Chinese Republic without exception . e\'er{ year. Even the youths of the upper and middle classes, who It is already sufficiently awakened to utilize the Shantung uuti the last war desired to become officers as the best calling ahair to its advantage and make ii a national educational issue. have be~un to evade conscription. for the last few years the army It will not be satisfied with driving out the Japanese authorities have been having a hard time in getting recruits for alone, the English and French will soon have to follow. This milita ry colleges and academies. In the last few years so many wi ll be a chance for Japan to regain its prestige in China. The young and promising officers have left the service, Iha t the Conference may repudiate the Lan~ing-lshii agreement regarding authorities adopted a rule which will deprive those who resign of Japan's special interests in China, but the geographical, radical their military position and pension if they do not ha\•e due reason as well as linguistic advanta~es remain all the same. If America for resign a hon. becomes the master of exploited China, as it already is of Cuba, Un1il very recenlly, even discussiop aboul reducing the Haiti and Mexico and to some extent of Central and Soutn army or navy was a crime and constituted Iese majeste, because America, the Chinese will use the ~ame weapon against it as the commander of the army and navy is His Majesty- The they successfully iised ai:ainst Japan and already threaten to Em pe ror! But today reduction of armament is very popular; use afainst En~and if 11 does not give up its alliance with there is a movement against it led by the ex-minister of justice. Japan . The chief and most effective wea_pon against an ag­ " The Japanese peovle have at last come to realize that mihtarism gressive power is the boycott of its goods. Japan will make good will not do much for the welfare of. Japan, and now they discredit use of such an opportunity. Its people can speak Chinese without militarism", wrote the chief editor of the Oriental Economist, much difficulty and can travel inland as a Chinese and above Mr. Tanzan lsibasi. He added, " If the white peoples knew the all trade without the Comprador (intermediary) on whom foreign real present thoght of the Japanese youths, they would surely merchants are almost invariably obliged to depend- even in the change their attitude toward japan"- treaty ports! The J a~aneae militarists will try ha rd to convince the The Washington Conference will accomplish nothing but people of the inevitability of the coming war. But the youths will accelerate the next war. It may agree ou some sort of and workers as well as the peasants will not be misled by them slowing-down in the competitive naval race, but that means very as in the past, Ql!cause the living corpses of present Europe bear little. For the next war will not depend much upon big ships evidence to the awfulness of war. They are already looking hut on submarines, airplanes and gas. As I have already iu­ toward a new light that shines from Russia. Japan underwent· temated the conference 1s an American organ used to crystallize its own political revolution sixty years ago conducted entirely the war seJttiment against japan and represent it as the Prussia by the youths .of. that period. The youths of today are awakened of the far Ea:st. to the taak. of· a second revolution-'lhe social· :revplution. . · 140 I ntthtational PreU.COrr1!1J>Onden<:2 No.17

Two very co11spicu?U8 .events we~~ recenlty reported from its ambitious schemes. If French troops did not occuey the Japan One ia the usaHmat100 of ZenJlro Yasuda, the greatest Rhine last May, it was because Briand felt the oppoaihon of banker and multimillionaire of Japan, by a labor agitator, because his allies apd also the agitation within the French proletariat. he refused to contribute toward the fund for the labor hall. And To-day the eternal problem comes again to the surface still another-Premier Hara assassinated by a railway worker. uuder a new aspect. The Reich and the big German industries The revolution o{. 1.868 began. with the aasassination of Premier declaire their incapacity th pay the sums demanded by the Allies. Ii Tairo of the ·tokugawa Government who was then the sole Oerma11 capitalism defends itself with great eneriy a~ai.I1st the ruler of japan. The Japanese youths, workers and peasant!; imperilling of its properly privileges. It has grown nch at the will meet the demand of the new age which has been successfully expense of the working masses which it has exploited and it inaugurated in Russia. Our youths and workers will readily iutends lo keep for itself alone all the profits realized. But at adort Communism and the Soviet system just as their forefathers the same time that it is exploiting millions and millions of men adopted capitalism sixty years ago. It took over half a century and is envisaging light-heartedly the bankruptcy of the State, for the French revolulion to travel over to Japan. " But the in the illusory hope of not being affected by 1t , the German Russian Bolshevik Revolution ", as Lenin said, " will reach Japan bourgeoisie is creating an abyss i11 the world market, in the with wireless speed". No one predicted the French revolution ccuter of Europe. The fall of the mark redounds lo its benefit nor the Russian revolution. Social revolution of today is for the moment because it can pay salaries much inferior to a world-wide movement and my prediction, therefore, is not th ose of and England and because the state of exchan~e a fantastic but a scientific revolution baesed upon solid social itself allows it to exploit its slaves until it is satiated. But its and economic factors. The capitalistic war, if it comes, will not artifical prosperi ty is highly precarious. retard or change the course and progress of the social revo­ lution in japan, as elsewhere. In all probability the capitalistic To produce it needs raw materials and it has to buy· these war will come sooner than the socialist revolution, because the materials not i11 marks but in dollars or in pow1ds and ii also workers and youths have only started to organize and have as sells it s future production. Millions of Germans cannot live yet little power and influen02. As 1 said above, Jhe Washington ~ny longer on the starvatio11 wages they are receiving - and the Conference will accelerate the future war, thus accelerating the rev olutionary menace is thus again growing. fall of capitalism and imperialism. The fnglish bourgeoisie is suffering the consequences of the fluctuations in the mark. 011 one hand German industry otters the English competition more formidable than in the past : The Centra.I European Crisis aud unemployment across-- the channel is increasing alarmingly. On the other hand, Germany closes its own market to England by Paul Louis (). beca use the mark is too low. And the more Germany issues The crisis in Central Europe places the f rench. German 11 ~. per money to cover its deficits the more the mark will siuk. and English proletariat before a vast problem. !-:very fall in the value of the mark creates a new danger for 1 he crisis in truth was not born yesterday. It is one Great Britain. That is why the London Cabinet desires a of the most lasting and striking results of the world war. revision of the financial agreements before that of the pact The German Communist Party has never ceased to protest of Versailles. aj!'ainst the spedous peace of Versailles which organizeJ the But French capitalism has other aims. It dictated the dismemberment and the ruin of Germany to the advantage of p~ace at 1he point of the sword; it will not allow anyone to french and English capital. But it has been at the same touch it. It says, " Germany will pay, Germany must pay ". time denouncing Gem1an capitalism which , aft(' r liaving con­ 11 Germany does not pay, French capitalism will put its armie8 tributed in large measure to the breaking out of the worlc..l war, in motion and will seize new territory. It feels that its prestige is trying now by all means to shift the resulting ·burdens upon with the petty bourgeoisie and the peasant who adhere to the the working masses in the Reich. Bloc National and who would refuse to pay all new taxes is fhe and, before its organi­ a I st:1 ke. 1t is therefore trying to force the latter in to the ranks zation, the minority elements that later joined it, have protested of the proletariat. against the treaty of Versailles. The characteristic feature of One can see what separates the French and the English this treaty is that it was imposed by forcr., that it created l ~o urgeoisie. The latter tends to a rapprochmtnt with German several Alsace-Lorraines by a transfer of certain peoples from ca pitalism in order to save it by mutually agreemi11g to exploit one domination lo another, and that it exacted from Gcrma1l\' the German proletariat. German capitalism is conjuring up heavy reparations al a time when the latter was deprived cif the financial difficulties that m·:nace 11 and the collapse which some of its most essential resources. seems inevitable after the period of prosperity. English capitalism The English proletariat, on its side, ha s nev er ceased to i11 saving Gennan capitalism, hopes thereby to restore the clermu1d a revision of the Versailles pact. It protests against market of the Reich as well as a II other markets, and to the territorial as well as the economic clauses. postpone the revolution in Central Europe. English capitalism is dreaming of new ventures to mask its own impotenc~ to The English and French bourgeoisie behind Mm. Cle­ restore incfustry. menceau and Lloyd George saw in the war precisely the same opportunity as the large industrial associallons of Germany: These are some aspects of the problems that present a means of enrichment. These large industrial associations had themselves and that the workers of France, Gennany and hoped to rob J-'rance of its iron mines in the East and its coal Fngland ought to ponder. The present crisis is for all of them mines in the North, and England of a part of its colonies a step nearer to the revolution. and its merchant marine. Then German capitalism would have enjoyed hegemony in the world market. The English bourgeosie that wholeheartedly entered the Political Parties in Australia. war and that saw in it an instrument of its future supremacy by f . 1r ·. ll"ilki11so11 (Adelaide). nutlined for itself this triple aim: to replace Germany on tht Austra lia, owing 10 its geographical position, is considered Bagdad line, to wipe out the merchant and military marine of relatively unimportant in international affairs. A study of its its adversary, to remove the competition which the Rhine­ economic and political evolution, however, preseuts many inter­ \l'estphalian region offered to its own iron and steel industry. esting features and some useful lessons lo students in th.: prole­ The French bourgeoisie, still dominated by the memory tariat 1110 1e111ent. ri f Napoleon, was seeking military satisfaction above all. B111 In pre-war days, Australia Y.as considered the last word its ranks included more modern elements that were aiming at in political democracy- possessing institutions which functioned economic power. Al the same time a serious problem came up: to keep the class- struggle strictly within the bo\,lnds ol bourgeois who would pay the war expenditure, the French or German legality. Strikes were exorcised by legislative en;u;tment and the hourgeoisie? The French bourgeoisie, which during the years establishment of federal and State Courts of Arbritration; the 1914-1918 was making every effort to avoid paying an y slatr submission of industrial disputes to mediation was made c001- taxes and to shift the heaviest burden on the masses, declared. pulsory and trade-unionism received the blessing of the bour­ " Germany will pay ", which !n its view meant t~at Germany geoisie. It was a model democracy, where the exploiters govern would pay both the warexpend1ture and the reparations. - -as Engels poiuted out - directly through the agency of univer­ The entire military and nationalist caste.'is ready to grasp sal suffrage. 2,844,862 persons out of a total pop11latio11 of anf· occasion for a recommencement of the_ war upon s~me 5.247,019 have the franchise-the acme of the bourgeois concep· off1cial pretext. There are Junkers on bo~h sides of the Rl11~1e. lion o1 citizenship. 1,410 , ~4 of the Voting population are wome,n 1 he annexa lion of the left barlk of Ifie Rhme and the occupa 11011 whose support is much sought after. of the Rhine still have partisans in Paris, and the Bloc National Australia's chief industries are agrictulture, mining and which corresponds to the Pan-Germans has not yet renounced sheep··a11d CAI Hie 'l'a ising:. · The fart :i11at it is far re1iloved 'from No. t7 International P~-Corrapond~c:e 141 the cmten of world trade has retarded its development as an his successor endeavoured to cousumate the pledge by the intro­ export manufacturin1t country. However, there is a large volume ducti?n of conscription for the European Charnel-House, resul­ or manufacture for domestic consumption; hence in proportion tmg 111 the party being split in twain. Most of its parliamentary to the total population it possesses a fairly large industrial members were expelled, placing the pnrty in opposition in all the proletariat. There exists a big export trade in wheat, wool ~arliamenls with the exception of Queensland. The conscription frozen meat, hides and mining products which more than ba ~ fight proved to be the most bitter i11 Australian history- forcing lances ~he volume of imports. As in other capitalist countries, tt~e people 111to two hostile camps with the most bitter antago- production has been centralized, resulting in congestion in all 111sm. However, the proposals were rejected, mainly through the the big cities, thus denuding the country of its rural population. support given by the agrirultural constituencies- the farmers This centralized industry explains the large support given to vo ting solidly in the negative, owing to their fears of being the Labour Party by all the town constituencies. without sufficient agricultural labor for the farms and the harvest The economic development of the country is reflected in The Liberal Party is a strong organization representing the composition of its political parties. Thus there exists the the large exploiters of labor and surported by the bourgeoisie and Country Party representing the agrarian interests, which holds ~ hig section of the rural community. It was the chief advocate of the balance of power in both the Federal and the Victorian the consniption proposals. forming a Coalition Government with Parliamentl and possesses many seats in the New South Wales •he renegades from the Labour Party. The Hughes Coalition and Queensland legislatures; the agrarians are represented by Government lomted alter the referendum proved to be the most 212.,622 agricultural holdings from one to 50,000 acres in size. bitter enemy of the revolutionary section of the proletariat, pasaiul? forming a compact class with bourgeois private property in­ special legislation to suppress the I. W. W. and keep down the stincts opposed to the Communist program of social revolution. militant workers. Many of the best lighters were thrown into The IUjuidation of their resistance is a problem for the Commu. prison for anti-war propaga11da . under the " War Precautious nist Party to solve and calls for the drawing up of an agrarian Act", hundreds were deported from the country and every effort program. made to crush anyone raising a voice against the wholesale to % of the country 's population. the financial and in ­ slaughter_ in Europe. The removal of the Hughes Gove(nment dustrial capitalists, posses 70 % of the country's wealth . the from power is oue or the things foremost in the minds of the r~maining 90 % .only. 30 % ?f the wealth .. E~~loitati?n as in Australian workers at the present time, many believing that a f· uropean countries 1s organized on a sc1enhfic basis. The Labor Government will result in man y of their present troubles position of the working-class at the prese11t time is very bad being removed. owing. to the :ovidespread unemployment and high cost of living. The inevitable reaction from the war occurred in 1917 and I axahon has 111creased and at the present time stands at a high e>.pressed itself in a huge strike involving thousands of workers lr\el. and tyin'l' up all the main industries of the Commonwealth; fol­ Prior to the lormation of the Con1111u11ist Party last De­ lowing the attempted introduction of the Taylor system into the cember the Australian Labour Party was the only political ex ­ railway workshops at Everleigh. New South Wales. It was a pression, of the proletariat, acting as its va11guard and finnl y mos t important indu.:>trial upheaval with far-reaching effects. resting on the trade-Lutio11 ,; lor support--being in fact merely Hundreds of workers were victimised. their places being taken by 1he 'political form of the or~a11ized working-class. Early iu 1914, scabs who volunteered in thousands to break the strike which wu it obtained control of the federal Government. having big majo­ delated, due to the scah recruiting and to betrayal by labour rities in both lhe House of Representatives and Senate, after leaders. having defeated the Liberal Party, the only opposition it had to The successive defeats of the striking unions did much to fight at that period. The rural vote was responsible for its vic­ iurlher the cause of industrial unionism. The lessons of the 1917 tory. as if got the support of a large percentage of the country strike ran be taken as the background for th~ recent endorsement electors together with the united trade-union vote from the big hy the Melbourne Trade Union Congress. representinit 700,000 i11dustrial constituencis. A large section of the former support trade - unionists, of the principles of revolutionary mdustrial has been lost owing to the rapid rise and growth of the Country unio11ism and the evolution of the necessary machmery for its Party. This supporl was previously gi\•en and received al the establishment. The A. l. P. Conference held in Perth in 1918. price of the Lahour Party's development as a working-class passed a resulution demanding a settlement of the war hy nego­ body . as many concessions had to be gra11ted to the petty-bour­ tiations in the face of great opposition at that time. The general geoisie to retain it. election which followed the Annistice resulted in the Labour Party The A.LP. appeared to have a golden future ahead of it, suffering a big defeat in all parts of the Commonwealth. The lor besides thej Federal \l'ictory, it had majorities in all the State labour strongholds of Adelaide and Brisbane were lost to the Parliameuts, with the exception of Victoria. This State has not party, Natioualists winning both seats. experienced the bliss of a Labour government up to date, excepl The position to be taken up by the Communist Part_y to for about five days, when the party was used in the fight of the Hte A. L. P. at the present time is complex, many Communists in ­ bourgeois ,parties for the political plums of office. The sisting upon the necessity of attacking and smashing it. This po­ worker's economic positiou durmg that period was considered lic y is, however, bound to fail as the A. L. P. still retains the good as compared with other countries- in the eyes of many support of the majority of the Australian workers, and is moving Australia was a worker's paradise- the absence of a proletarian towards the left, in r~po11sc to the militant influences within the revolutionary palitical party may be taken as a proof of the lack trade-union movement. The New South Wales Trades and La­ of sharp divisions in the class-struggle. All attempts that were bour Council, representing all the important unions in that State. made to form, one were liquidated, those in existence beini' small is supporting the policy of the Communist Party. the secretary bodies quite apart from the general mass of .vorkers and devoid being a member of the Executive of the C. !'. At the same time of influence. The I. W. W., as an economic organization exer­ however, the unions affiliated to the Council are also affiliated to cised an influence quite out of proportion to its numbers, being the A. L. P. The C. P. exercises an influence in the working­ very weak, but did splendid work, however, in propagating the class mainly throu~h the work done in the trade-unions. principles of revolutionary industrial unionism, until its sup­ In N. S. W. it has done fine work a111011g the unemployed, pression by the bour~eoisie during the war, when its most stal­ demonstrations being organized, and through the agency of the wart fighters were imprisoned for terms ranging from 5 to Labour Council much Conununist propaganda being disseminated. 15 years on a framed;JlP charge of arson. They were recently The Communist Party i11 Australia is still in the initial released with one exception, through the findings of the Royal stages of its organization, the stronghold of the C. P. being Syd­ C'.:ommission appointed to inquire into the cases. ney. The problem of C. P. organizawon is difficult, and succns is When in office the Labour Government was looked to as conditioned by the attitude taken towards the·Labour Party, which a means of emanicipation and its supporters entertained high i'S reformist, but still has strong militant influences within its hopes of it leading them into the Promised Land via ranks and possesses the confidence of m0&t of the Auatri.lian Parliamentary democracy. It was the happy hunting ground. for toilers. The Party's 1~ ublication of Lenin's "Left Communism" political aspirants seeking a career on the backs of the workmg­ created a profound impression and has helped to clear up many class -and 111 the course of its history has been responsible for misconceptions in the problem of Commu111st organization, spe· quite a number of cases of "personal emancipation" (the pre­ dally the relationship of the C. P. to the A.LP. The Austrahan sent Prime Minister is an ex-umbrella mender, at one time ositiou is in many respects (notwithstanding the experience of carried his swag in the Australian bush, and at the present [ abonr Goverument) similar to the J':nglish one and calls for the time is the workers most bitter opponent) owiu1t to the non­ use of the widttt political generalship in building up the C. P. to revolutionary nature of its program and policy. The war be a. revolutionary instrument capable of taking the leadership and however, radically transfonned the 1itualion. At the outbreak of direction of the proletarian masses in the coming revolutionary the war the workers were pledged to the· " laat man . and last epoch. shilling" by the Labour ·Prime· Minister, And11ew Fisher, and 142 lnt.ematiooal Pre.-Corrapoadau:e No. 17

uot keep step with the developments in the raw material market. The number of new orders btgan to decrease somewhat about ECONOMICS the middle of the ruonlh. However, the factories are still con1- I pletely occupied with the filling of old orders. . . . In the loco­ motive industry there is still emplo_v111e11t for several months. GermGDy's Decltnme Industry The railway car industry has sufficient old orders to keep it going for some time, but new orders have considerably by (Berlin). E. Ludu1ig decreased in number on account of the uncertainly in the . . The black first of December on the Berlin Stock Exchange 111arket due lo the price moveme11t. In the electrical in ­ 1s bemg followed by other black days and weeks. The short-Jived J11stry the domestic orders for future needs have continued to rise in the dollar exchange, which after its first fall al the eutl come i11 . in so me 4uarters even grown in vo lume, but in other of November J'umped to 210 marks to the dollar, has been wiped quarters ha ve begun to decrease.. . . The electric lamp factories out in a new ecliue. At the present time the dollar is flucluating found it very difficul1 lo obtain the necessary raw and half­ around 165, which repr<'sents a JQ.(line of about 150 points i11 finished materials on account of the high prices and the fart a few weeks. that only future delivries we re guaranteed. . . . The shi,Jyards are also suffering from a gra1·e sca rcity of ra·.v 1na teria s .. .. The catastrophe of the mark's depreciation has been follow ­ The cutlery industry wa s satisfactorily husy . The quantities ed by the catastrophe of the mark's rise. The stock guotaiions, of stl' el de111a11dcd, however, were only in pa r t delivered. which were driven up thousands of per cent by !he wildest spe­ culation, are now falliug since their support, the dollar, is uu the> "The meral prices attained 011 No~e mher Sth, on account decline. of the deprecialio11 of the mark, the highest le vel of the year." The fact that for the first lime in year:> bank failures ha1e While the costs uf production were thus th rough the in ­ occurred demonstrates how profoundly shaken the Stock Ex­ cre:lse in rite price of raw materials continually rising-- on De­ change really is. At first the " PfiHzische Bank'' with about cember I st th e l)fice of coa l wa s raised to about 700 marks th e HI0,000,000 marks capita.I and reserves in Ludwigsha fen closed 1on--and the se ling price was thus compelled to continually in ­ tis d<>ars because of foreign exchange speculation on the part ol rrease, a completely opposite 111o ve n111 l was taking place in the its Munich agents. The next to collapse was a bank in Diissel­ 11 · ~rld market. The E n~ l ish coal price wa s sh:irply cut and the dorf with losses aggregating at least 200,000,UUO marks. The 1;nre of 1ro11 a 11d steel 111 the world ntHket also suffered severe re­ depositors of the bankrupt banks are now at the mercy of the tl11ct io11s. Clerman competion is becoming more and more difficult. i?iaQ.t banking enterprises. In fact , the export of iron finished products from Germany has 11ot increased. 111 spite of the depr<"Ci .1tio11 of the mark. It would, however, be incorrect to explain the Stork b­ rhauge crisis and bank failures as lhe result of merely the stale Of late, the transpo rt crisis has been added lo the i11 - of the conflict between England and France and the moratorium c~·case in the price of materials and the sarrity of raw materials. 1tlgotiations. Of course, the possibility of a postponement of Ger­ 1 he report of the Chambers of Commerce shows that all in­ many's reparations payments furnished the initiative for the dustries arc suffering under a lark of the required car space. In collapse of the Stock [xrhange rise. This change for the wors.: the Ruhr region alone the shortage of cars was in November 1921 on the Stock Exchange is the forerunner of a decline in the IOO;CXJO greater tha11 i11 the rorrespondi11g mon th in 1<>20. well-being of Germany's entire industry. Now after the false The very shorlage of domestic raw materials, which are splendor of the high dollar quotation has faded, the exhausted not immediately dependent upon the financial difficulties of the body of German industry stands exposed in all its nakedness. .Reich, especially the .coal scarcity, sho~s that the begi~nin~ crisis 1s more than a cns1s due to the foreign exchange stlualton. II ~ Of course, " the situation is still good" ; the factori.:s arr sltows that the underlying cause of the crisis is the decay of Ger­ still very busy. "The increase of prices of industrial products man capitalism. Although there are lo-day in the Ruhr district is still going on", according to the "Berliner Borsenzeitung" '>50,000 miners- 27,000 more than on December I, 1920 aud or the 9th of December. But this "still" with which the lina11- lbO,CXIO more than in 1913- the production of the first eleven cial writer instinctivelv speaks of the contradiction between in ­ months in 19'..! l was only 86,037,610 tons as against 105,449,295 crease of prices and rise of the mark, demonstrates the collapse tons in 1913 and 91 ,204,234 tons in the last war year, 1918. The of the present wave of industrial activity. The premonitory figures on the production of the underground workers per capita creaking of the timbers in the economic structure can be more per working hour clearly demonstrate how much the clearly heard in the report of the Prussian Chambers of Com­ eificiency and productivity of the mining industry has receded. merce on the economic situation in November. It states that, i11 In August, 192 1 it was 116 kg. as against 113 kg. in August 1920 gooeral, in spite of industrial activity a slowing-down is every­ and 116.2 kg. yearly average for 1920, while in 1913 it was where making itself felt . t36.3 k~ . and in 191 9, 124 kg. That shows a con tinual decrease The decisive factor which led all branches of industry to i11 efficiency in spite of a gradual increase in the total production fear a change in the economic situation even before the Stock up to September 1921. as compared with 1920. In October a Exchange crisis- in the feverish days of November- was the decrease 111 the total produ.:tion of 70,000 tons was recorded and continual rise of prices and the scarcity of raw materials. Both in Novembe: a decrease of 280,000 ions. of these phenomena are present not only in those industries which The impoverishm ~ n t of lhe German workers, the source of depend on foreign countries for their raw material supply and all the profits arising out of lhe induslrial activity following upon which therefore were seriously affected by the high dollar ex­ the fa ti of the mark and the failure to replace or to repair the change of the first half of November, as for example, the textile mining equipment worn out in the reckless mining production of industry, but also make their appearance in the domestic raw the war 1s now be~inning to react on German industry itself. material market, above all the coal market. The produrtion rnpnrit.1· of German capitalism is being curtailed l he change in the foreign exchanges must uuder these cir­ because its produrlion rlfirie11cv has been lowered. Because of cumstances have ~rave consequences. The raw materials· bought the lack of coal, twenty blast:furnaces are cold, although the previously depreciate in value and the German " dumping" at inquiries for pig-iron are far beyond their production capacity the same time comes to an end. fnglish competition, of late, has even if they were operating at full blast. " Many factories are been able through radical price-cutting to seriously hinder this facing a partial shut-down to-day, because they can no longer " dumping " even when the mark was very low. The manufactur­ produce as a result of a lack of important iron shapes ", arrord- ing industries are also complaining of the scarcity and increase 111g to the report of the Chambers of Commerce. of prices of raw materials, as for instance, the porcelain Many divisions on the slate railways have only three days' earthenware and paper industries. Scarcity of raw material, coal reserve, the freight traffic is in confusion and the express- especially of coal, 1s especially noticeable in the mining and iron 1! ain service has had to be curtailed. This represents a return to industry, is is shown by the following excerpt from the Chambers the worst times of the war and post-war period. of Commerce report : The profit policy of Gennan "big business" which exports "In November the coal scarcity, particularly of coa l of coal and, in order to obtain control of the railroads, cuts off their the better grades, made itself felt to a serious degree. ... coal supply, only intensifies the contradictions inherent in present­ No improvement was recorded in the provision of the pig-iron day German capitalism which are leading to a crisis. industry with the n~cessary quantities of coal. . . . The price The working-class is about to enter upon 11 period of of pi¥-1rou was increased 011 the 1st of November. . . . The want. The period of " good business '' was for the working machu)e induslry was very activ11 and many firms could not masses a time of ever-increasing prises of growing misery. In accept all orders since they could not obtain raw materials al spite of the nominal wage increases of many trades, they hitve not a reaSQltable price. . . . The price of the finished product could bt'en able to .keep the p ac.e set· hy tile rise of pricea.. While Ger- No. 17 ht~rnalional Preee-Corretpondeuce 143

man wages have rise!l . at moat 1300-1400 % einc.e .191~, prices widespread unemployment men in work are very loath _to risk have jumped at least 3000- 4000 %. The cost of hv1111' mdex of employment by strikmg. l'eos of thousand~ who flocked m_to .the the government statistical bureau, which gives only an mcomplete unions during lite war were not trade-umomsls by conv1chon, ;1v er,a~e of the price-increase conditions in Germany, rose frurces at its command for the carrying through of th e 11nemployed. 1- A growing paralyzatio11 of industry. provisions of the Wiesbaden Agreement. There is no doubt that the government sees the red Struggles a re ~oin~ 10 commence, more serio~s. and more light. The government knows that the one hope .or the extcnsi\ft' than any this w111ter has yet seen. The 10111111g of the return 10 normal conditions in England is to reestablish the working-class into an united front, which the Social Democratil' Con1inenlal and world markets. If foreign markets cannot lackeys of class-justice are seeking to hinder, will in the misery be reestablished and should chaos in Europe continue to increase, of the days to come, in spite of all obstacles. become an uu­ it is difficult to see an y other develoliment in England but 1111 a voidable necessity . uprising. At the same 1ime, it is use ess blinking the facl th.at, owing 10 the traditions of the last few hundred years, lhe British have a profound respect for what they ca ll " Law and Order". Many hold that a Labor Party g~vernment wiH firsl have . to I THE LABOUR MOVEMENT1 come into power before lhe question of the Social Revolution will be one for immediate consideration. The first Labor govern­ ment will undoubtedly be strongly to the right, but circumstances The Present Condition of the will drive it lo the left in order to mitigate a growing general En~lish Trade Unions. misery. . . . . hy Coa/1's (London). ·1 he policy of 1he Communists 111 England. Communists should be inside the local Labor Parties, Trades Counc1ls, trade­ Prior to the war the English trade-unions had a total unions and the Natioual Labor Parly, seeking election to various membership of something less than 4,000,000. During the war, official positions. showing the nu.sses on every occasion the wisest owing to the enormous increase in the cost of living, and the steps to taRe and advocating a revolutionary b~t sane l)Q~icy. The consuquent pressure upon the workers to unite for the obtaining time ha s passed in E n~laud for mere theoretical exposihons of of the wage increases necessary to maintain their living standard, general Communist principles. The policy of the Communist the trade-unions practically doubled their membership. Party must be the application of Communist principles to the In the early days of peace, as trade was good and the go­ working-class problems of to-day . vernment made some show of keeping its wartime promises, the workin~ hours were reduced even below what had always the goal or the British trade-union movement- the 48-hour week. Man_v well-organized unions succeeded in having their hours of their The Italian SyndJca.list Union members reduced to as low as 44 and even 42 per week, and the by railway clerks even pressed for a 38-hour w_eek. In ~dditio1~ to The lJ . S. I. ( Unione Sindicate ltaliana) was born in 1907 these gains, substantial advances were 111ade in ot~er fields . fht> of a srlit in the C. 0 . L. (General Confederation of Labor). The government, fe11ring the dread spectre of Bolshevism, yielded to Italian Socialist Party and together with it the C. 0. L. was then almost every demand of the workers without pu~ting up much of developing like th e J- rencl1 and Spanish Socialist parties, etc. in a fight. The employers, as well, were demoralized by the mse­ the direction of mi1listerialism. The revolutionary members of curity of governments in general all over Europe in the post-war the union s who would not bear responsibility for such policy. period and did not offer much resistance to the demands of the separated themselves from the C. G. L. and organized their worke~s . However, the lemporary prosperity was purely arti· own revolutionary syndicalist union, the Union Siudicale ficial. This artificial /)rosperity came to a sudden end w1t11 ltaliana. Its membership quit at the same time the Socialist the setting-in of the word crisis. The capitalist class immediately Party without, however, forming a political party of their own . began to attack the shorter hours won by the workers. Big em. Contrary to the French syndicalists, the membership oi players in various industries quoted ~ases in which they had l_ost the U. S. I. held a posilion of extreme intransigeance during contracts, owing to the lo11j;er working week 111 ot~er countries. 1he war. A small group of war enthusiasts led by the Ambris It is necessary here IO mention that u11t>111ployment aid was gr. .... was forced to leave the U. S. I. They organized the Unionc ed to practically all unemployed at the close of the war. ltaliana del Lavoro (Workers' Union) with a small and At the same time that the capitalists attacked the length of constantly dw indling membership although it recently turned the working week, they also advanced against the unemployment one more to the left . allowance, which was reduced by 25 % . They alleged that many In l

from Moscow he was arretted and wae imprisoned for The resolution of the Anarchists was adopted by a large maay months. After his releue from priaon Bor~hi changed majority of the National Council; it is, however, no mdication not only his attitude to the Comintem but also his views 011 of the relative strength of the two tendencies, since the vote was Sovitt Russia. Where11, before his arreet, he gave a very counted according to delegations contrary to the procedure at favorable account of all he saw in Russia, he now in all hi s a General Congress where votes are counted according lo speeches attacks Soviet RuHia and the interual and extern a I membership. The entire membership of the U. S. I. is about policies of the Russian Communists most bitterly. 150,000 of which a considerable majority adheres to the Syndi­ Within the U. S. I. there exist two tendencies that differ calist wing. widely in the question of international affiliation-a fact that It is impossible lo foresee the result of the nexl Congress. may possibly lead to a selt{ at the next Congress to be held i11 At any ra le the question : " for or against affilia tiou with January or February. While the Anarchist wing will have nothing Moscow '' is clearly foreshadowed in the differences within the lo do with the , consequently also with organization and will inevitably lead to a split though perhaps the Red Trade Unio11 International, which they cousider under not at the coming Congress. The petty-bourgeois Anarchist 1he complete domination of the former, the Syndicalist wing wing will form its own organiza lion. The revolutiona r) adheree to the resolutions passed by the Congress of the Red SyndicalisJ wing will lake a definite stand for an uniied proll'- Trade Union International. The Anarchists who deny on prin­ 1nri111 frw1t , having already accepted it in principle. ciple all political influence in the unions, a ltempl, nevertheless, to impose upon the U. S. I. their own political view, and to ge1 possession of 1he leadership. In the Summer of IQ21 the U. S. I. sent representatives RELIEF FOR RUSSIA to the Congres. of the Red Trade Union International with instructions to take part in the work of the Congress, but to vote for its policies only if they did not prejudice the autonomy For the Sufferine in Russia. of the unions and allowed their complete independence from any political party. In no case were the representatives to vote for An influential group of G ret'k i11teller l11 :1 lg breaking affiliation with the Red Trade Union International. The have signed the following app<;al for stanin;:" question was to be decided by a general congress of the U. S. I. Russia , published in the offi nal org an of the The two representatives of the U. S. I. at the Moscow Congress Conununisl Party of Greet·e, " Rizospastis ". belonged to the Syndicalist wing and thought the resolutions of Maxim Gorki, spiritual fatht'r of all literature and wi1h that Congress perieetly acceptable. Nevertheless they declared liim the most representative intellactual workers of the world, this to be their personal opinion and not that of their union. have addressed a moving appeal to the intelle<·1ua h1 of all At the Convenlion of the National Council of the U. S. I. cow1tries independent of their social and political opinio11 ; and held in the early part of October, a resolution on international invite them to assist in the European and America11 organizatio11 s affiliation was adopted Iha! did not at all clarify the situation. which have as their object the saving of that part of the Ru ssia 11 The resolution was neither definitely for nor against affiliation people which on account of poor clirna1i c condilions is otherwise with the R. T. U. I. On the other hand it demanded the callin~ doomed to die of hungu. of another World Congress outside of Russia to escape the The most terrible disaster has descended upo11 this in1111 c11 st· influence of the Russian Communists. This Con1vess is to revise and hctero~eneous ea r th where 10-day lhe human mind is those Moscow resolutions that treat of the relations between the attempting 11s most ambitious flight. We do not need to di scuss trade union and political Internaionals. the events in Russia or whether these events are acceptable to The Anarchists are going to introduce a motion at the nexl all of us. Posterity will judge them when ii will have at it s Congress of the U. S. I. that the latter break with the R. T. U. I. disposal all the facts. II would be crimi11 a l to discuss a t a and start the organization of a new Trade Union Internationa l. m0tnent when millions of human be ings are in danger of dea th . The probabilities are that the majority will vote to remain in At this moment when the funebral cortege of death passes before the Moscow International. It is questionable whether the us, let us respect Russia's sorrow and let us think on!}· of th e Anarchists will continue their membership in the l l. S. I. horrible scourge raging over that distant country. after that. In lh e questi on of a united proletarian front, i. e. 1he uui o11 We Greek i11tellectuals as well are the spirilllal ch ildren of the C. G. L., the U. S. I., and the Railroad Union, (in Italy of Dostoievsky, Tolstoi, Gorki, Andreyev and of all the oth e.­ the railroad men have an organization indepe11dent of the Russian masters who have aided. us to see artistic truth and th e C. G. L.), the U. S. I. takes a ne_gative staud, its Syndicalist win g path of civilization more clearly. We cannot refuse lo recognize all the. sacrifices which !he Russian mind has never refused lo for tactical reasons, its Auarchtst win~ for rea sons of pr inciple. The Syndicalists criticize the Conunu111sts for ha vi11 g demanded, make for the deliverance and th ~ pu rifi cat ion of humanity. We, the in their propaganda for a united front, 1hat the members of Greek intellectuals, must now repa y a part of our debt al the U. S. I. leave their unions and join the C. G. L. According 1he lime when cruel nature is torturing Russi:i. to them there could never be any question of the members of the Our country, as all other civilized coun tr ies have alrea dy U. S. I. individually joining the C. G. L. even if the latter had done, must aid these people in danger of death by slar ation. not decided to leave the Moscow lnternatio11al in order to rejoin Russia, which is doing all tn its power with the aid of the civilize